Wow, that's interesting. I wonder if at some point they will try to consolidate their three brands into single stores. I don't know if that would be viable at all, but it seems like they've got quite a bit of expense tied up in their real estate footprint between Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy. If not all three, then maybe Gap and Banana Republic?

The problem with the Gap is that is sits between the low end Old Navy and the upper end Banana Republic and since the middle markets of most retail is vanishing they are hurting and will continue to do so until something can prop back up the middle class consumer. We will see a lot more of this in retail as this all shakes out.

The problem with the Gap is that is sits between the low end Old Navy and the upper end Banana Republic

In my opinion, the problem with The Gap is that their clothes choices for both women and men are dreadful. They stopped making clothes that people could wear to office work so they could chase styles. Half the clothes there now look like flannel that you can get better quality versions of at so many places for less money, but how many people wear flannel to office jobs?

The last time I was in a Gap store was probably at least five years ago and that was in West Village. I just remember it being a mess, never walked into another one. I think dreadful sums it up quite well.